Chapter 8: Teaching Students who are Still Learning English

Chapter 8 focused on teaching children who are still learning how to speak English. It was meant to help teachers who have a class filled with diverse students. The first step is to figure out what students actually DO know. Find out a background of that student which will help teachers to make connections with their students. Be aware of where they are from, what languages do they already speak, what their home life is like and what subjects they are most interested in. It’s important that teachers look past the language mistakes and focus on the thinking that is being done by the students. One helpful way to help these students comprehend the English language better is by having them make connections between the content they are learning and their own experiences. As a teacher it might be frustrating to have a class at such different levels but it is important to be patient with all students and understand that they really want to learn what the other students already know. That is why it is important to have students learn from one another.

When I was in high school our school had little diversity and about every student was able to fluently speak English except for the foreign exchange students. My teachers did not have to worry about having students who didn’t speak English because it was already assumed that everyone would know how. It’s interesting for me to think that when I am a teacher that I may not have students who can speak English and it makes me wonder what types of things I can do in my classroom to help make things easier for these students. I can’t imagine going to a classroom in a different country and not being able to understand anything. I can’t think of a more overwhelming experience and that makes me want to do everything I can to help these students learn. It seems like nowadays when people go into teaching that they just assume that all their students will know English this chapter shows that this is not the case.

Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material

It is a teacher’s most important job to have their students actually learn material and not just memorize it. If not all students are comprehending material it is important that a teacher try different approaches to things. It is also important that the teacher be able to successfully access whether a student really understands something or not. Just because a student received a good grade on a test does not necessarily mean they understood the material, they could have just memorized material to receive a good grade on the exam. Having students break down and dissect the information they are given will help them to use and relate that material to their own life. It’s also helpful to have students make interpretations on what information they thought was important and whether or not they agree or disagree with things. This chapter really focuses on how to challenge students yet keep them interested at the same time. Being a good teacher is all about making students think and giving them that time to think in class.

I thought this chapter was very interesting. How a teacher presents information is really what makes all of the difference. I had a social studies teacher in high school that was so passionate about American History that it was impossible for students not to want to learn. He taught us things that were real and clarified the places where he felt that teachers taught us false information. For example he had us learn about the “real” Christopher Columbus and showed us he was not the wonderful man that they taught to us in elementary school. He had us read articles that did not sugar coat the events of our histories past. He would jump on his desk and scream when something really angered him, or interested him or even if he just wanted our attention. He really made me think about what I was learning and become interested in history. I always came to that class prepared because I actually enjoyed doing the work.

Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom

For some teachers getting their students to feel motivated and interested in a lesson can seem like an impossible task. But, there are many different techniques which teachers can use to help engage students in a lesson. First every teacher should understand that students actually do want to learn and be there and they do know the importance of getting an education. The way that teachers can motivate their students is to show that they are passionate about what they are teaching and actually care about the material that they are teaching. Teachers should also relate their lesson plans to issues that their students care about. They are always seeking information that will answer what they feel are life’s important questions. Teachers should also be realistic when it comes to the workload that they give their students. If a student becomes overwhelmed with homework they can become more likely to give up and less interested in the material that they are learning.


Thinking back to my experience as a student I can think of many times when I have been in a class and have just been “bored out of my mind.” There have been classes where I would make flashcard after flashcard until I have memorized all of the material. As soon as I was done with the exam I would forget almost everything that I memorized. I believe that this could have been different if only my teachers had showed that they were passionate about what they were teaching. It was clear to me as a student that they did not take anytime to think of a creative lesson plan and that they were teaching the material just because they were required too. The teachers that I had who took the time to relate the material we were learning to real life and issues that I cared about were the times that I felt I learned the most and enjoyed school the most. When I become a teacher I am going to do my best to help my students to relate the material to their own life.

Chapter 5: Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group

This chapter focused on how to teach students individually and how to teach them in groups. There are many different students in every classroom. Some of these “types” include the eye-roller, the wallflower, the hand-writer, the dreamer, the con artist, the goof-off and the workhorse. Each type of student brings something different to the classroom whether it is good or bad. It is important that teachers take note to which student falls into which category, especially when it comes to having them work in groups. Because each student is considered a different “type” it is helpful that teachers understand this in order to be realistic in what they want each student to accomplish. A teacher would not want to put all the goof-offs in one group because it would be pretty certain that nothing would get done. During group work it is also important for teachers to assign each person a job such as the recorder, the facilitator or the material getter. This way each student is assured that they will be helping out the group.

I found the different “types” of students to be interesting and actually consider myself to be more than one. I would consider myself to be a wallflower, a workhorse and even a little bit of an eye-roller. I always do my work and come to class prepared yet I don’t always like to raise my hand with the answer. I am not necessarily an attention grabber so most of the time; I like to keep to myself even when I know the answer. However, I can also consider myself a bit of an eye-roller because when a teacher embarrasses me or does not notice my effort it upsets me and I can become aggravated throughout the rest of the class. I also agree with what this chapter said about rolls in group work because there have been many times when I have been in a group and forced to do most of the work by myself if I wanted to get a good grade.

Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success

Fires in the Bathroom:

This chapter was all about how a teacher should make sure that their students will succeed. It is vital for teachers to have faith and encourage each and every student. A good teacher will never give up on a student no matter how much trouble they are having understanding material or focusing. If a teacher sees that a student is having trouble with a specific assignment or lesson, that student should be addressed privately or after class. No student wants to be humiliated in front of his classmates and peers just because it is taking them a little longer to comprehend something. This chapter also discusses the significance of having fair expectations for students. It’s not about accepting perfect scores from students but that they are trying their hardest and giving 100%. It is important to acknowledge students for their hard work even if they don’t necessarily meet the standards, this way students will know that their efforts are not going unnoticed. As a teacher if you show that you actually believe that each student can succeed, then each student will be more likely to succeed or try.

I thought this was an important chapter because it stressed the importance that no teacher should give up on their students. When I was a freshman in high school I had an algebra teacher who would teach a concept and then do at least 3 different examples in order to insure that every student fully understands it. There was never a day that went by where I thought they my teacher was moving to fast or was not reaching my needs as a student. His homework was also always related to what we were studying and was not meant to be busy work but was actually good practice for us. I use to hate it in high school and even as a college student when my teachers would give homework merely just to give work. When I am a teacher I want to make sure that my homework will actually be helpful and worth their time.

Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior

This chapter focused on behavior in the classroom. It is important that students respect their teachers and that teachers are fair to all students. Students want teachers to be aware about what is going on with them without having to tell them. Teachers should be aware of a student’s body language, when a students has their head down on their desk, it could mean that the student is feeling ill, tired, stressed, depressed or bored. There is usually always a reason that a student has their head down and a teacher should pay attention to student’s actions. It is also important for teachers to understand that teenagers go throughout a lot and are dealing with more than just school. Teachers should make time to talk to every student in order to learn as much as possible about students individually. By learning about what a child goes through outside of school can give the teacher a better idea of how to deal with certain issues. For example if a student is doing poor in school or acting up calling that students home might make things even worse for this child at home.

There were so many things in this chapter that I agreed with. I feel that it is important for teachers to be able to create a positive and safe environment for all students. I hate being in classrooms where a teacher favorites those students who participate way too much, it just it makes other students in the classroom aggravated. Then when a teacher calls on you because you’re not participating as a student you want to say “well if you gave all students an equal chance to participate then we would be more engaged in the conversation.” I can relate to so much about what the students are saying in this chapter. I don’t agree with teachers calling on students just to make them pay attention. I believe that it makes them feel embarrassed which causes them to concentrate even less.